A. Field of the Invention
The invention broadly relates to animal harnesses and leashes.
B. Prior Art
An animal leash is typically connected to a collar worn around the neck of an animal. The collar is free to rotate around the neck. An animal, such as a dog, that has not been trained, instinctively wishes to roam away from its handler. When the dog tries to walk or run away and pulls the leash taut, the collar is automatically rotated so that the leash is positioned at the back of the neck. As the dog pulls the leash taut, it feels pressure on the front of its neck.
Many types of animals have an opposition reflex that makes them instinctively move toward the part of their bodies on which they feel pressure. Since the dog feels pressure at the front part of the collar when he pulls on a leash that has been rotated to the back, the collar encourages the dog to pull away from its handler with even greater force. As another example, the opposition reflex of a horse causes it to turn towards the side where the rider's leg applies pressure.
In addition to collars, there are animal harnesses that wrap around the torso. A typical harness has a leash attachment at the back of the animal, but a back-mounted leash cannot be used to give the animal cues for learning commands such as sit, down, and come. The back-mounted leash also signals the animal to pull on the leash, similar to a neck collar, because of the pressure on the front of the chest when the animals pulls the leash taut. Some prior art harnesses discourage pulling behavior by providing devices that rub, chafe, or hobble the animal's front legs, but these devices cause stress and discomfort.